cd4 and HAART

May 23, 2010

I know there is no way to tell what cd4 count was prior to infection with HIV. However, I was wondering if HAART will increase cd4 count above preinfection level? In other words does taking HAART continue to raise your cd4 counts or will it reach a maximum limit and then stop? Does the maximum limit indicate where your cd4 count was prior to infection?

Thank you in advance

Response from Dr. Holodniy

HIV treatment could raise your CD4 count to preinfection levels, but that usually requires a fairly high CD4 count at the time you are starting treatment. We don't have a lot of data to know how often this occurs. The average increase after starting treatment is about 150, but that is average and many people see greater increases than that. The lower your CD4 count is before you start the longer it may take to increase and the lower the overall increase may be.

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